CHAPTER XIX
A MONSTROUS ACCUSATION
It was a terrible moment for Clive. In the midst of his own vexation andchagrin at the failure he had made, and at the knowledge that he hadjust missed laying hands on the criminal who had been setting fire tothe school, to be pounced upon of a sudden, gripped with suffocatingfirmness and shaken like a dog, was disconcerting, to say the least ofit. It was positively maddening.
"Let go, you fool! Clear off, and let me go on with the business," hecried in tones of anger. "Do you hear? Let go."
Clive was no saint. He had as many faults as the average fellow, andperhaps more than some. But they were honest faults, faults seen in thelight of open day. Not the low, mean ones affected by some fellowsbehind the scenes, to their own shame and the abhorrence of allright-thinking people. Clive had never been one of those fellows whosadly upset the discipline and more of a school. He was a rock to leanon where questions of principle and honour were concerned. The Headknew it. Old B. knew it better still perhaps. The masters and the schoolthought quite well of our hero. But he had a temper, and showed it now.He struggled and fought like a madman. But still those iron fingersgripped his neck.
"At last!" he heard in the deep, cross tones of Mr. Axim. "At last thewretch who has troubled us so long is run to earth. Stir an inch, sir,and I'll deal sternly with you. There'll be no trifling, I can assureyou. Though you are a Ranleigh prefect, and not yet a man, you canexpect the roughest handling."
That was Mr. Axim all over. He was, perhaps, the most unpopular of allthe masters. In fact, we may state that Ranleigh had seldom been sounlucky. Mr. Axim seemed indeed to have been born with a naturalantipathy for boys, and it was ill luck that he should have come toRanleigh, or, for the matter of that, to any school. To him boys wereunnatural animals. He was ever suspicious of them. Their overflowing funand humour he could not understand, while boyish forgetfulness and wantof care were, in his eyes, unpardonable offences. Was it fate, too,which had made him Clive's one particular _bete noire_, almost apersecutor? For friendship between them had never existed. The merry,light-hearted Clive, so serious when it came to mechanics, so studiouswhen he was interested, was with this Mr. Axim a sulky dunce, unable togrip even simple rudiments. But then driving never agreed with our hero.A little sympathy, a little human friendship, and he was your bestsupporter, ready to "swat," as the boys termed it, ready to work hisfingers almost to the bone so that he might give satisfaction. With Mr.Axim he had, in his earlier days at Ranleigh, been for ever in trouble,and since then the two had avoided one another as far as possible, eachunmistakably disliking the other.
"At last, and the Head's pet prefect!" said Mr. Axim, laughingsatirically, and with an air of triumph in his voice. "Let us see whathe has to say to this capture. Pet prefect indeed! Pet hypocrite, Ithink. And to think that I warned him of you! To think that the one whodid so nobly in putting out our first fire should have set it going. Ha!ha! I suspected the game. You should have thought of me, Darrell, whenyou went into this scoundrelly business."
Clive was too astounded to make any reply, and if he had wished, thegrip compressing his neck behind made speaking almost impossible. Hiswits were whirling. He felt inclined to shout, or to break out intohysterical laughter. It was bad enough to have missed the man he wasafter, when he and his friends had taken so much trouble. And now, to beaccused of the deed himself, to be told that he had been caughtred-handed, was half maddening, half ludicrous. Had it been anyone elsebut Mr. Axim, Clive would have explained. But this master's obvioustriumph, his satire and biting sarcasm kept our hero's lips silent.
"So," said Mr. Axim, as if gathering his ideas and thinking the matterout, "so, returning from a pleasant evening in the village we accidentlydiscover Darrell as the much-wanted incendiary. Good! We now proceed todisillusionise the Head. We will ring this bell and awake him."
He tugged at the cord promptly, and somewhere far away in the depths ofthe house Clive heard an answering clang, repeated some five or sixtimes. Mr. Axim went to the door and closed it, standing afterwards withhis back to it.
"I'll not soil my fingers any longer," he said. "You can stand overthere in the opposite corner. No. Leave the candle. A desperate youngruffian such as you are might easily complete the job I managedfortunately to disturb. Now, a clean breast of the whole business willbe the only course for you to follow."
Clive scowled at him, and then closely inspected his surroundings. Ashe had suspected, there was a pile of papers in one corner, from whichcame the strong odour of paraffin. Everything, in fact, was ready forthe conflagration. It merely wanted the match, and that at least he hadbeen instrumental in preventing. Suddenly there was a tap at the door.The Head of Ranleigh entered. Slowly his eyes passed from the figure ofMr. Axim to that of Clive. He sniffed heavily, turning his head in alldirections. Then, as if he had more than half gripped the situation, hispale and impassive face became suddenly paler in the candle light, whilehe wore an unusually stern expression. Crossing to the wide table onwhich his papers were neatly arranged and ticketed, he drew his writingchair nearer and sat down, resting his forehead on his hands. And thushe remained for a few moments, as if anxious to put his thoughts fromhim. It was with a fierce "Well?" that he finally addressed Mr. Axim.
"This is the end of the trouble," said the latter. "You have had firesat the school. The matter has been a mystery. There is the culprit.Clive Darrell."
"And you?" asked the Head severely, turning upon our hero. "You admitthis fact? You agree that Mr. Axim discovered you in the act of settingfire to these premises? Answer at once. Are you responsible for thewhole of this wicked business?"
"Decidedly not. There has been a mistake, sir," said Clive, hardlyknowing where to commence his story.
"A mistake! Of course," laughed Mr. Axim hoarsely. "There always is anerror in these affairs, no matter whether the culprit be discoveredcandle in hand, in the midst of heaped-up papers saturated withparaffin!"
"You were found like that, Darrell?" asked the Head, sadly enough.
Clive nodded. He glared across at Mr. Axim defiantly. "I admit thefact," he said curtly. "But I am not the culprit. Mr. Axim has been tooclever, for he has merely come upon the scene after I had discoveredwhat was happening. I followed someone here. I wasn't sure what washappening, though I had my suspicions. I came down the passage and wasabout to enter the room when this fellow suddenly put his electric torchon me. There was darkness a second later. He knocked me over, and sentmy torch flying. I chased him down the corridor and then lost sight ofhim. Thinking that he might have returned here, I came back again. Thatwas the moment when Mr. Axim proved so clever."
The latter gasped. Clive's effrontery made him positively giddy.
"A pack of lies," he cried. "If there had been a struggle you would haveheard it. Of course he lost sight of this fellow in the corridor, simplybecause he never existed."
"Silence, please," commanded the Head, lifting a shaking finger. "CliveDarrell, you state that you discovered an incendiary at work. You had atorch. You chased this man. You no doubt saw him. Then give the name.Was it one of my Ranleighans?"
"Yes," came the prompt answer. "I feel sure it was one, though I'm sorryto have to admit it. But who, that's another question."
Mr. Axim sniggered. Clive could willingly have kicked him. The Head'spale face took on a sterner appearance.
"You saw and followed, and admit that this miscreant was a Ranleighan,"he said icily. "Then you can also give the name of the individual."
"No. I refuse. In my own mind my suspicions are so strong that I feelcertain. But I never saw his face. I'll condemn no one on such evidence.I regret I am unable to give you the name of the fellow."
Mr. Axim laughed again, causing the Head to frown. Clive crossed hisarms over his chest and confronted his questioners. And then the masterwho had come upon him stepped up to his side, took the candle and slowlyinspected him.
"Rubber shoes, for silence of course," he reported. "Got a sweater on
,for warmth, ditto a dressing-gown. Smells strongly of paraffin, and hasa box of matches in his pocket."
His elevated eyebrows were more than expressive. He looked at his senioras much as to say, "The evidence is conclusive. This boy is a liar."
But Ranleigh's Head was not the one to condemn without a searchinginvestigation. He had thrown himself back in his chair, and was staringnow at the candle. He was terribly grieved, if the truth be known, mostterribly disappointed. For Clive was an especial favourite. He couldhave sworn that the young fellow was honest and upright. Besides, thiswas the act of a fanatic. Clive wasn't that. He was a decidedlylevel-headed fellow.
"You refuse that name?" he asked after a while.
"Yes, sir."
"You have no other explanation to offer?"
"Most certainly!"
"Ah!" smiled Mr. Axim, and then, _sotto voce_, "More lies, I suppose.Hear him!"
"Then let me hear it."
"These fires have naturally upset Ranleigh fellows. We felt it a duty todiscover the culprit. We decided to watch the premises during the night.Masters and I were on duty at eleven to-night. You will find him downin the far corridor."
Mr. Axim's face fell. The Head's took on a happier expression.
"Fetch him here, please," he said, turning to the master. "We will waitfor your return. Be quick, please."
He aimlessly turned over the papers on his table while Mr. Axim wasabsent. But very soon the latter was back, bringing a very startledyoung fellow with him.
"You were watching with Darrell, then?" asked the Head.
"Certainly. We decided to see into this jolly business and catch thecad--er--the fellow that was doing it. Er--Clive and I were for dutyto-night."
"Together?"
"No, sir. Separate. We were to meet every few minutes."
"You met then?"
"Often. At last Clive crept along and told me there was someone about.He asked me to watch at the far end of the corridor."
The Head nodded. Mr. Axim gave vent to a malicious chuckle.
"Well out of the way there, I think?" he asked. "Did you see anything ofthis chase which we are told followed?"
"What chase?" asked Masters, looking across at his friend. "I don'tunderstand. I've been waiting there ever since in case Clive's manbolted. What's happened?"
There was an impressive silence for one whole minute.
"Only I'm accused of preparing a fire here," said Clive. "Mr. Aximcaught me."
"Red-handed," cried the latter. "Matches in pocket and candle in hand.Now he has the impudence to declare that he himself disturbed a fellowhere. He chased him down the corridor, when the culprit disappeared. Butyou neither saw nor heard them! That's significant. More than that,Darrell saw this wretch, recognised him, he believes, but will give usno name. Queer, a little, don't you think, Masters? But let us go alittle deeper into the question. That first fire commenced close to OneSouth. Darrell was the one to discover and quench it. It was marvelloushow he had managed to think out all the details of the business."
"Wait! Parfit woke him first. He gave the warning," cried Masters, hisface flushed with anger and distress at the accusation aimed at hisfriend. "When you begin to dig deep, Mr. Axim, we'll have all thedetails, please. Just remember what I've mentioned."
"I do," came the cutting and sharp answer. "Parfit announced smoke. Thesmell had awakened him. Agreed. But there's no fire without smoke.Darrell had ample time to do his work and get back to the dormitory. Myargument begins to tell, I think."
He looked searchingly at the Head, while Masters stared at Clive as ifhe were stricken speechless.
"We go further now," said Mr. Axim, a note of exultation in his voice."The post of School Captain falls vacant next term. Darrell is acandidate."
"Yes," nodded Masters.
"That fire and his management of the boys made him first favourite. Itgave his popularity a tremendous fillip. But who was chieflyinstrumental in discovering and controlling the fires which followed?Clive Darrell!" cried Mr. Axim, pointing a condemning finger at ourhero. "Who would have had all the kudos here to-night, once this firehad started? The wretch stands there. Clive Darrell, being convenientlyon watch, and having thoughtfully got rid of his companion, prepares fora flare, makes ready to set it going, with the one idea of waiting forthe flames to become sufficiently serious. Then he makes the discovery.Wakes the school, oh so gently, and descends to-morrow morning even agreater hero than he was before. In fact, he becomes certain King ofRanleigh. There, sir, you have the case clearly. There is clear motivefor such conduct. Clive Darrell is the one you are after."
Very carefully had the Head followed this argument. He didn't like Mr.Axim overmuch, but he knew him to be a shrewd fellow. For the life ofhim he could see no fault in this argument. It was a terribleindictment. Everything seemed to argue against the truth of Clive'sstory. Everything? No. Let him declare the name of this fellow he hadchased. Then let them confront him. That would clear his nameabsolutely.
"Clive Darrell," said the Head sternly, though kindly, "you havefollowed Mr. Axim? The evidence looks black against you. As to themotive, I find it harder to believe that you would play to the galleryfor any post than I do to conceive of any reason for your firing thesebuildings. One thing alone can clear you. Give me the name of thisperson you followed. Let us bring him face to face with you."
There was dead silence. Mr. Axim actually smiled. Masters lookedterribly distressed, while the Head seemed thoroughly miserable.
"You refuse?" he asked.
"Yes."
"Then go to your dormitory. You will be expelled in the morning."
It was a disastrous ending to the ambitions of our hero.